[...]... Babylon, beside the Euphrates River Twice in ancient history, the Babylonians ruled a large empire Under King Hammurabi, Babylon ruled most of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) The later empire of Nebuchadnezzar included much of the Near East Babylon, which is thought to mean “Gate of the Gods,” became an important center of learning and one of the most beautiful cities of the ancient world Yet it is best known from... goddess of love, it was used as a starting point for religious processions This modern copy of the Ishtar Gate has been built in Babylon did you know? ▸ Babylon is famous for its Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World These gardens were supposedly built on raised terraces by Nebuchadnezzar, although no trace of them has ever been found syMbol of the Moon god Sin winged disk of the... using underground water At the southern end of the Red Sea was Axum, a rich trading state in what is now Ethiopia, and one of the first states in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion the Map above shows the three ancient kingdoms of the Garamantes, Meroë, and Axum situated in the northern part of Africa kingdom of the garamantes ▶ The kingdom of the Garamantes flourished from about... the coast of Canaan This area was later named Palestine after them 14 (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc All Rights Reserved 14th-century ▲ the kingdom of israel manuScript Showing the founderS of the twelve tribeS of iSrael The hills of Canaan were home to the Hebrews, or Israelites They were made up of twelve tribes and believed they were descended from a common ancestor, Jacob Unlike most ancient peoples,... All Rights Reserved nok pottery Sculpture of a human figure sub-saharan africa gold of ghana ▶ One of the wealthiest states to develop south of the Sahara was the kingdom of Ghana in west Africa, which flourished from about the 8th to 13th centuries ce Ghana’s main source of wealth came from gold From the 8th century ce, Arab merchants from the north coast of Africa crossed the Sahara on camels to... features on the front of the coin coin from the reign of king joel (ruled 6th century ce) ▲ the riches of axum christian cross is shown on the back of the coin After the fall of Meroë, Axum, a kingdom established in the 1st century ce, became the leading east African state, flourishing until the 10th century ce Axum’s wealth came from trading ivory and other goods across the Red Sea Kings of Axum, who had... as Astarte, the goddess of love, and to Baal Hammon, the god of weather and crops bronZe Statue of baal dreSSed aS an egyptian the philistines ▶ Between 1200 and 1150 bce, the eastern Mediterranean was attacked by invaders known as the Sea Peoples In 1180 bce, the Sea Peoples were defeated by the Egyptians in a fierce naval battle off the coast of Egypt After this defeat, one of the Sea Peoples, known... Neolithic Age only ended with the arrival of bronze in about 2500 bce The earliest European Bronze Age civilizations were the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece During the later Classical Age (500–336 bce), the Greeks created one of the most influential European civilizations King Alexander the Great of Macedon led a vast empire, spreading the Greek way of life into Asia His achievement... than surface flints They mined for flint by digging through layers of soft chalk using picks made from deer antlers The layer of flint in this Neolithic mine in England is 30 ft (9 m) below ground Flint and chalk are both made from the skeletons of ancient sea creatures which built up on the seabed 100–65 million years ago chalk is a soft, white rock Flint layer made from sea sponges and other creatures... first states south of the Sahara appeared, in Ghana, Great Zimbabwe, and Benin Africa (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc All Rights Reserved ghana great Zimbabwe benin axum nok meroë egypt garamanteS map key africa Egypt the people of Ancient egypt created one of the world’s earliest and longest-lasting civilizations It began in about 6000 bce, when farming villages spread along the banks of the Nile River . evidence of the skill of the Sumerian craftworkers, of the fabulous wealth of the royal courts, and of long distance trade. One artifact found was this statuette of a male goat, made of gold. fighting on behalf of their gods. Settled farming peoples were also raided by foreigners such as nomads from the steppes of Asia. Warfare was a major cause of the collapse of many ancient civilizations. ▲ . East. Babylon, which is thought to mean “Gate of the Gods,” became an important center of learning and one of the most beautiful cities of the ancient world. Yet it is best known from the Bible